Apologetic Heart

As a word guy, I have sporadic moments where words just come to me. Lately, they have been manifesting themselves in poetic attire. A few days ago this poem appeared.

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It comes in moments
You and I apart
I taste God's love
And am cut in heart

Apologies are hard for me
I must admit and you know
It pains me the humility
But to the cross I must go

I'm sorry for my slacking
In the humble leadership we need
I'm sorry that I hurt you
In word, in thought, in deed

I love you because of God
And your captivating beauty a perk
I commit to you again this day
To love you like God and kill the jerk

Your Hand

"My heart, my mind, and my strength are yours today, Lord.

I commit them into your hand.

When my inward desires stray even just a little, may your hand steer my heart.

When my thoughts distract me from your purposes, may your hand focus my mind.

When my body is overcome with weakness, may your hand sustain my strength.

My heart, my mind, and my strength are yours today, Lord.

I commit them into your hand."

Greek Pride

I keep wondering if it is a prideful thing to let people know that I am pretty good at translating NT Greek, that I am working (albeit slowly) on translating the whole New Testament. The reason I ask is that two students "caught" me today and I felt bad about it. But they were intrigued! One student and I got into a discussion about how we can trust the text we have now. I never thought I would have someone interesting in those kinds of things. I guess they never knew someone that could read Greek or understand a bit of textual criticism.

For me, it seems to come down to the heart! If I continue to point people to my ability to work with the Greek text out of a sense of accomplishment or pride...that is not good. However, if I just speak of it as something God has given me the ability to do and love...my heart turns to God.

I'm interested to see what you think about it. Feel free to comment.

Heart of God

Welcome week is over! It was a good welcome week from what I can tell. I have seen returning students reaching out to new students. I have seen new students making new friends. I am going to enjoy having the day off tomorrow...a much-needed break.

As we look to help all our students experience Jesus this semester, I pray that their decisions bring glory to God. This is the time when many students begin making small decisions that lead in directions away from the heart of God. To expect this of our students, I must be ready to lead the way.

Lord, may I continually seek your heart in every decision, in every action, in every conversation. Give me your patience. Show me your heart. May your Spirit guide me.